A Place to Be BornExemplo

### FROM NAZARETH TO BELEM "Everyone went to enlist, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family of David, in order to enlist with Mary his wife, who was pregnant." (Luke 2:3-5) Thus began the pilgrimage of Joseph and Mary. Two young people living the greatest adventure of their lives, full of anxieties and worries. As if the issues of marriage weren't enough to make them uneasy, there was an added and unplanned ingredient: a baby in Maria's womb. They knew this baby was different, special, divine, but the rest of humanity was not. Despite all their fears, they continued to trust the promise given by the angel Gabriel: "Fear not!" (Luke 1.30; Matthew 1.20). Since 2020  we are living in moments of great fear. The pandemic took us out of our comfort zone and made us rethink, reflect and reframe many aspects of our lives. Many have lost relatives and friends and some were also very close to death. Nobody can come out of such profound experiences unscathed, can they? But what is the challenge for us, 21st century worshiping servants? The answer is old and simple: like Joseph and Mary, we must continue walking within the project stipulated by God, knowing that it is He Himself who accompanies us in good and bad days. Courage is not lack of fear. Courage is the decision to face fear, however terrifying it may be, and in the case of us worshiping servants, it is the certainty that circumstances do not define us or paralyze us, as we follow the sovereign God and it is He Himself who tells us every day: “Fear not!”. This Christmas, may the decoration of our homes be the brave smile of those who are winning, day by day, all their struggles in the safety of those who are capable of doing much more than we ask or think, through their power that acts in us (Ephesians 3.20). Amen!